Sports Network

Fort Worth, TX - Nolan Ryan and Pittsburgh lawyer Chuck Greenberg came out on top early Thursday morning in U.S. Bankruptcy court, putting forth a winning bid of $593 million to buy the Texas Rangers.

Ryan and Greenberg outbid the tandem of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Houston businessman Jim Crane. According to the Forth Worth Star-Telegram, Cuban and Crane's top bid was $581.2 million.

"We budgeted to purchase the ball club. Obviously, that budget was adjusted last night to a level that we didn't anticipate, but we felt like still made sense for us," Ryan said. "We didn't do it at the expense of some other aspect of the game, so we anticipate putting a budget together for next year, and it would include trying to improve the ball club."

Final approval of the Rangers sale rests with Major League Baseball.

Ryan and Greenberg reached an agreement on January 23 to purchase the team and the land around the Ballpark in Arlington for $575 million from owner Tom Hicks.

The Rangers filed for bankruptcy in May but the lenders who hold the debt on Hicks Sports Group ultimately objected to the sale with the belief that the team could fetch more money.

The Ryan-Greenberg group recently increased its offer, although it was rejected by U.S. Bankruptcy judge Michael Lynn, who ordered the auction process to proceed as scheduled.